Derek Frazier Position: Offensive Line Years Coaching: 15th season (Second at CSU)

DEREK FRAZIER
Offensive Line | 15th season in coaching | Second season at CSU

Derek Frazier at a glance...

• Named to Jim McElwain's inaugural staff on Feb. 7, 2012.
• At Fresno State coached All-American Logan Mankins, who has played in two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots.
• Served as the starting center on Northern Colorado's 1996 national championship team.
• Returned home in 2012 to Fort Collins, where he starred at Rocky Mountain High School. His father, Tom, played football at Wyoming.
• Has coached three Freshman All-Americans.

Career background

Postseason experience

Personnel file

• Age on Sept. 1, 2013: 40
• Hometown: Fort Collins, Colo.
• High School: Rocky Mountain; Fort Collins, Colo.
• College: Northern Colorado (business administration, 1997); Nichols College (MBA, 2000).
• Family: Wife Taryn, daughter Katelyn

Prominent players coached

• Three-time All-Mountain West center Weston Richburg
• Logan Mankins, an All-American and first-round selection who has helped the New England Patriots to two Super Bowls.
• First-team all-WAC selection Bryce Harris.
• First-team all-WAC selection Kenny Wiggins, a San Francisco 49ers signee.
• First-team all-WAC guard Andrew Jackson, Atlanta's seventh-round selection in the NFL Draft.
• Bobby Lepori, a first-team all-conference choice signed by the Minnesota Vikings.
• Chris Denman, a first-team all-league tackle, drafted in the seventh round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• Ryan Wendell, a Freshman All-American, first-team all-conference choice, and a free agent signed by New England.
• Freshman All-American Kyle Young.

Playing career: Northern Colorado, 1992-96

Derek Frazier returned to his hometown of Fort Collins in 2012 and now begins 15th season in coaching, his second as the Rams' offensive line coach. He officially joined Jim McElwain's staff on Feb. 7, 2012.

In Frazier's first season at Colorado State he tutored an offensive line anchored by honorable mention All-Mountain West center Weston Richburg.CSU's rushing attack in 2012 averaged 169.6 yards per game over the season's final five contests after netting just 99.7 in the first seven games. In addition, the average sacks allowed by his line was reduced from 3.6 over the first seven games to 1.0 over the last five, as players grew more familiar with the system.

Frazier spent six seasons (2006-11) as offensive line coach at Fresno State prior to his move to CSU, including three years (2009-11) as run-game coordinator.

In 2011, his senior left tackle Bryce Harris was named first-team all-WAC (second-team selection in 2010), in addition to Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 first-team honors. Harris started in 39 straight games to close out his career at Fresno State. Senior Leslie Cooper was named second-team All-WAC by Phil Steele, helping Fresno State's offense average 411.8 yards per game. Additionally, running back Robbie Rouse had 1,549 yards rushing, a total that led the WAC and was the third most in a year in school history. Rouse's 2,678 yards from 2010-11 are the second-most ever by a Bulldog running back in back-to-back seasons, topped only by Rouse's 2011-12 total of 3,039. Fresno State averaged 4.1 yards per rush, 12.7 yards per completion and 6.0 yards per play on the year behind the offensive line.

In 2010, Frazier coached Andrew Jackson, who was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft, and finished the 2012 season on Buffalo's practice squad. Under Frazier's guidance Rouse became the first true sophomore in program history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a single season.

He also directed one of the nation's top running attacks in 2009, led by All-American and NCAA rushing leader Ryan Mathews, who went on to be the No. 12 pick by the San Diego Chargers in the 2010 NFL Draft. Fresno State was eighth in the NCAA in rushing and 17th in total offense in 2009.

Frazier has developed six players that have earned first-team all-WAC honors, all in consecutive seasons (Kenny Wiggins, Andrew Jackson, Bobby Lepori, Ryan Wendell, Chris Denman and Harris). Jackson became Fresno State's first-ever first-team Academic All-American. In 2007, Frazier juggled an offensive line hit hard by injuries, but saw the improvement of several young players including center Joe Bernardi and guard Jackson, both redshirt-freshman starters. And because of the blocking of the offensive line in the 2007 Humanitarian Bowl, the Bulldog offense was able to rack up 571 yards of total offense against ACC foe Georgia Tech.

In 2006 under Frazier, offensive lineman Chris Denman was selected first-team all-WAC and drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one of four Fresno State players drafted that year, helping the `Dogs dominate the line of scrimmage in consecutive bowl game victories, over UCLA and No. 18 Virginia. In 2006, the offensive line set a school record by allowing only 12 quarterback sacks, and was also part of a group that opened holes for Dwayne Wright, the nation's sixth-best rusher and a fourth-round draft pick by Buffalo. That year, the Fresno State rushing offense was ranked No. 16 (180.0 ypg.) in the nation, while the offense ranked No. 5 in the NCAA in scoring and was one of the nation's most efficient in third-down conversions and red-zone efficiency. Plus, Fresno State ranked No. 15 in the NCAA in rushing offense with 228.0 yards per game.

While at Fresno State, he helped develop All-American Logan Mankins and Freshman All-Americans Ryan Wendell, Kyle Young and Cole Popovich .

Frazier returned to Fresno State on Feb. 21, 2006, after one season as the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Northern Arizona.

From 2003-2004, he spent time as a graduate assistant at Fresno State, where he worked with the offensive line. The Bulldog line paved the way to a single-game record 503 rushing yards vs. Hawaii in 2004.

Before moving to Fresno State, he was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Adams State College for two seasons (2001-02). Off the gridiron, he served as the weight throws coach on the Adams State track & field team.

During the 2000 season, he was the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Nichols College (Dudley, Mass.) and led his team to a 7-3 record and first-ever postseason appearance. Prior to that, he spent one season as an assistant offensive line coach at Juneau-Douglas High School in Juneau, Alaska.

Frazier was a center at Northern Colorado, where he lettered for four years, helping the Bears win their first national championship in 1996. He was selected the team's most inspirational player as a senior.

Frazier earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Northern Colorado in 1997 and an MBA from Nichols College in 2000. A native of Fort Collins, Colo., he is a 1992 graduate of Rocky Mountain High School. His father, Tom Frazier, was a standout football player at the University of Wyoming.

He and his wife Taryn have a one-year-old daughter, Katelyn.